Cleaning (almost) plastic-free and chemical-free

Yes, I am still on my cutting-back-on-plastic kick. I am finding this difficult with food - my big step here has been to acquire not only cloth bags for all the groceries, but also cloth bags for produce, and to buy in bulk whenever possible, but there is no way to buy cheese, or the tortilla chips we like, or strangely enough organic produce (why, Wegmans?!) without getting them wrapped in plastic.

BUT in the areas of beauty and cleaning, I have found some good options that I wanted to share with you. This post will focus on cleaning, because I'm a nesting preggers right now.

Generally speaking, I have found it difficult to go completely plastic free in any area and still get ease or end the result I want, so I have settled where I can for either using less plastic, or using only plastic products that can be safely reused many times over.

NORWEX:

One line of products that have been invaluable in figuring out how to clean with less plastic is Norwex. Ironically, the material used to make these products is in itself a sort of plastic (poly-something and nylon), but I need only buy one that lasts many years (500 washes), so that's pretty good.

So what is Norwex? It's main thing is microfiber, and what sets it apart from other microfiber is that

it is really micro (1/200th of a human hair), giving it more surface area for picking up and holding onto stuff, and also this "anti-bac" quality that is accomplished by weaving silver flecks into it. "Anti-bac" basically means that you can hang it to dry and it self cleans as the silver goes to work in the fibers, killing bacteria and mildew before it grows, so that next time you need it, you can trust you are not wiping yesterday's gross all over today's counter. You rinse in warm water as you use it, rubbing it against itself to loosen the fibers, and then wash it in the washer once a week (with no-filler, no-chemical detergent). Best thing about Norwex: you can clean almost anything with just water. No kidding. 

So, of the Norwex products, I have:

* 3 "Enviro-cloths" - an all-purpose cloth that can really be used for almost anything. It requires no

cleaner, and does an amazingly good job of picking stuff up and holding it, instead of just moving it around. Not only does it not require cleaner, it actually cleans better than most cleaners! Check out this video comparing three cleaners on some raw chicken protein. I have used my Enviro-cloth on counters, tables, kitchen cabinets, fingerprints on doorways/light switches, dog lick marks on furniture, bathroom, car interior, windows/mirrors, window screens, baby items... The list goes on. All with just water.

* Polishing cloth - for windows/mirrors, this leaves a streak-free clean without any cleaner. Just wipe clean with Enviro, and dry with polishing, and your glass will be crystal clear, no Windex needed, and no paper towel lint (or waste) left behind.

* Dusting mitt - you wear it and just glide your hand in or over whatever you need to dust. It picks up and holds the dust instead of pushing it around the surface or stirring it up into the air, all without dusting spray. In fact, when you use sprays, the residue from the spray actually attracts more dust more quickly, so with this, you have to dust less often. Bonus: it's super soft to wear.

* Dusting wand - for harder to get to places, like between small places, ceiling fans, tops of cupboards, baseboards, corners... It also bends to help with reaching these things (helpful for fans and other high places). It has saved this nesting preggers from having to stand on things or lean over, and still get all the corners clean.

* Wet/dry mop - Swiffer-style, but without the gross smelling spray I can't stand, and much smoother, more durable and effective, and of course - water only! Mopping floors suddenly became faster, easier, and more fun the moment I pulled out this mop. I actually mop now 2-3 times a week instead of... never. The dry pad picks up most debris (not big stuff - I sometimes have to sweep up a

little at the end). You scrape debris off into the garbage with a rubber brush. Then the wet, anti-bac, microfiber mop cleans the floor with just water. Tough spots you can scrub a little bit using your foot on the mop head. It dries almost immediately, and doesn't leave the floors feeling sticky. If you have tall ceilings, the wand also attaches to this handle, so you can reach way up high to dust. I have used the mop on my floors, my walls, and my ceiling. Like the wand, this toy has saved my pregnant back, especially because the handle is easily adjustable.

* Kitchen cloths - One wash cloth that is good for cleaning counters, fixtures, etc. (I actually also use it - without soap - to clean dishes that are only lightly soiled. No tough grease spots or anything, and no raw meat, which we rarely have in the house anyway. Means dishes get done more frequently.), and one dishtowel that is super absorbent and doesn't smell due to anti-bac quality. 

So altogether, with Norwex I have now eliminated: Windex, Swiffer fluid and pads, various "all-purpose" cleaners that aren't really all-purpose (more on that in a second), and paper towels. You might eliminate more than that; I was already sort of a cleaner minimalist.

BRANCH BASICS:

But let's face it: even though Norwex can clean without any cleaner, sometimes you really just need to use a cleaner, like on super gross or stubborn stuff, and on dishes, clothes, etc. So I do have a cleaner as well, in addition to using baking soda as a scouring agent and vinegar occasionally. I'm a little obsessed with it. It's called Branch Basics, and it truly is an all-purpose cleaner, because it comes in a concentrate, and can be diluted according to what you need it for. This does come in plastic bottles, but they are as green and healthy as plastic can be, and are designed to be reused many times over. And, their packaging is plastic free (it comes in a cloth bag.) And, it is so concentrated

that I bought a 32 oz bottle maybe 4 or 5 months ago and it's only half gone. So, I will give in to my one bottle of concentrate and my couple of spray bottles, because it allows me to cut out a boatload of other plastic and chemicals.

So Branch Basics: go to the website and read all the science about it, but basically it was developed by three women who had a vested interest in a cleaner that did not irritate their family members' various serious sensitivities to fragrance and chemicals. So it is scent-free (though you can add essential oils if you like to have scent), plant-based, human-safe (read: you don't need to lock it up from your kids or wear rubber gloves to use it), and even as it is super gentle to use, it is super tough on grime. In its various dilutions it can be used to clean anywhere in the house, for hand/body soap, for baby soap (yes, it's true!), hand sanitizer, laundry, on your pets, on your car (inside and out), as a stain pre-treatment, for oven-cleaning, on carpet, for dishes... Seriously. I have tried it for almost all these scenarios and with grand success. Most recently, it got a bunch of mildew off the bottom of my shower curtain. I sprayed it on there and let it sit for a few minutes (it requires at least 30 seconds of "dwell time" to work on breaking things down), and when I came back, mildew was already dripping off it down the side of the tub. 

Between Branch Basics, baking soda, and occasional vinegar, I have also eliminated: Comet, the TONS of vinegar I used to buy for cleaning, laundry detergent (though I still use my homemade detergent for now), toilet cleaner, bathroom cleaner, Shout/stain remover, carpet cleaner, hand soap, dryer sheets (I use wool dryer balls)...

The only cleaners in single-use bottles I'm still buying are dish soap (BB can be used for this, and I do sometimes, but I haven't moved completely over) and dishwashing detergent (BB can be used for this, but even the company admits it is not where they shine, and my husband has put his foot down on trying weird stuff in this machine). Also vinegar, which I use to clean the toilet (pour 1 cup baking soda in the toilet, let sit one hour, pour 1 cup vinegar, let sit 5 min with the lid down, then watch the grime come off), and also for various other disinfecting jobs (like, I recently cleaned the inside of the washing machine with it). 

PRICE:

A quick note about price: both Norwex and Branch Basics seem pricey at first. But when you consider what you no longer have to buy - expensive cleaners, paper towels, etc. - it suddenly doesn't look nearly as bad. Despite the up front investment, in the long run, it is much cheaper. Consider Branch Basics: one 32oz bottle of concentrate for $49 makes 16 24-oz bottles of all-purpose cleaner. Normally this would be about $3.50 a pop (more if you buy the "green" stuff, which, by the way, still needs to be out of reach of children), so you end up saving $7, 16 bottles in a landfill, and countless chemicals in your home and waterways. Plus, you can use that same concentrate for a zillion other things, making it worth more than its monetary value. To me, this is totally worth it. I haven't had to buy any cleaning stuff (except vinegar and baking soda) since I acquired the tools I use, between 2 and 6 months ago.

THE VERDICT:

All in all, I feel pretty good about this combination of cleaning things. I also just bought a HEPA sealed system vacuum (a Shark Rotator), which allows me to vacuum without stirring up more dust - HEPA sealed systems (different than just a filter) are required to suck and hold 99.97% of the icky, disease-causing allergens and stuff. (And this one was only $200!) With all these new tools, I truly feel like my house is clean and I love that it isn't full of chemical smell (clean smells like nothing, not chemical!). I love that it doesn't make my back hurt or my hands dry or my head ache. The ease and result make me actually want to clean. 

And knowing that I'm not pouring chemicals into our water system, or filling landfills with empty plastic bottles, or exposing myself or my family to disease-causing grossness, is the best part of all!

Stay tuned for next time, when I talk about how I have changed my personal hygiene routine to cut back on plastic...

***NOTE: If you decide after reading this that you would like to try Branch Basics, mention my name at check out and somehow you get 25% off and I get $10 credit. Not sure how it works exactly... but give it a try!